BEIJING -- China aims to have domestic gold production reach 450 metric tons by the end of 2015, a rise of around 25% from 2011, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said Monday.

The ministry forecast rising domestic demand for gold and a "huge amount of room" for the industry's development due to gold's safe-haven and wealth-preserving properties, it said.

Still, domestic consumption is likely to exceed 1,000 tons by the end of 2015, "widening the fundamental market shortage," the ministry noted.

China has tried to speed up industry consolidation, aiming to reduce the number of gold producers in the country to 600 companies by the end of 2015 from 700 in the 2006-2010 period, the ministry said. The amount of gold produced by the top 10 gold companies will rise to 260 tons by the end of 2015 from 100 tons in 2010, it said.

By the end of 2015, China is likely to have gold reserves of 8,000-9,000 tons, an increase of 20% from 2010, it said, without specifying if these were state reserves.

The surface drill program started in June and has completed 16 holes (assays pending for 12 holes) with two rigs now on site. The surface program continues to progress at a steady pace.

Prophecy Chairman John Lee commented: “Wellgreen is a very large nickel, copper, and platinum group metals project with near-surface high-grade zones. High-grade intercepts will be incorporated into resource modeling and mine planning in the pre-feasibility study. We expect further positive drill results from Wellgreen shortly.”

Wellgreen features a low 2.59-to-1 strip ratio, is situated at an altitude of 1,300 meters, and is only 15 kilometers from the two-lane paved Alaska Highway. Those factors significantly minimize the project's indirect costs.

For the complete company statement with full tabulation of the drilling results, please visit:

In addition to its precious metals storage facilities in Hong Kong, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, GoldMoney customers now can store their gold and silver in a high-security vault operated by Brink's in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

GoldMoney also has recently partnered with Rhenus Freight Logistics to offer another gold storage option in Switzerland. The Rhenus vault is in the secured zone of Zurich Airport and offers customers superb security as well as the ability to inspect their gold.

Storage at the new vaults in Canada and Switzerland is available at GoldMoney's lowest fees. Customers can select their storage location when placing their buy order.

GoldMoney customers can take delivery of any number of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium bars from any GoldMoney vault, as well as personally collect their bars stored in the Hong Kong, Switzerland, and U.K. vaults.

It's easy to open an account, add funds, and liquidate your investment. For more information, visit: